Conquering the Americas

League Play, Games 9-13

[imgw]http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/1173/2011fixtures13.jpg[/imgw]

Columbian Cup

[imgw]http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/2776/2011cc2.jpg[/imgw]

League Table

[imgw]http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/5638/2011table13.jpg[/imgw]

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Our team is starting to warm up as we enter into the back end of the first phase of league play. We continue to hold serve against a lot of teams and have managed to grab two wins. As a result, we're right in the thick of the race for 8th or better.

We are also two games deep into the Columbian Cup. We followed up a monumental 1-1 draw vs First Division outfit Junior with a terribly uninspiring 0-0 draw vs Union Magdalena. It will take more than a miracle to advance in the Cup, however, because we simply can't match up vs the amount of talent we face against First Division foes.

How many games do you play? I was looking at the first season league table, and it seems the top teams play close to 50 games while the bottom is just 36. I'm curious as to how it works

saplingg : How many games do you play? I was looking at the first season league table, and it seems the top teams play close to 50 games while the bottom is just 36. I'm curious as to how it works

17 games in the first phase - top 8 advance to group play

Followed by...

17 games in the second phase - top 8 advance to group play

It's a very different structure from what I'm used to; having played games almost exclusively in the Premier League until this point. The fact that only the top 8 from each phase advance is what causes the discrepancy in total games played at the end of the full season.

I see. So the plan is to finish top 8 no matter what. As long as you get into the group stage you can be pretty much comfortable of a top half finish.

That's so tough. a short cold streak can make a huge difference!

League Play, Games 14-17

[imgw]http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/1058/2011fixtures17.jpg[/imgw]

Columbian Cup

[imgw]http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/2985/2011cc4.jpg[/imgw]

League Table

[imgw]http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/2185/2011table17.jpg[/imgw]

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OMG, talk about getting into group play by the slimmest of margins. We did our best impersonation of Man City by getting draws left and right. And while we only lost twice during the first phase, the fact that we only won six times had us on the outside looking in; all the way until the 17th match.

Going into that game we sat in 9th place with our destiny partly in our hands. A draw would leave us to fate, so I wanted to play for the win instead. Against Bucaramanga, we scored the first goal of the game in the 69th minute when Pedro Franco rifled home a shot from distance on a set piece. Coming off a throw-in, he slid unmarked just outside the box, collected a pass that came in from the sideline, and sent the home crowd into a frenzy when his shot hit inside the left corner.

I switched to a defensive style of play for the final 20 minutes, only to have a breakdown at midfield allow a counterattack. At the 81st minute, Bucaramanga had leveled and our home crowd was in disbelief. I had been keeping an eye on the live table all match long and knew that we had 9 minutes to either score a goal or sit out group play for the first phase.

Switching to an attacking style, Ubel Herrera rewarded the faith of the fans. At 86' Herrera was on the end of a through ball and got into the box with only the keeper charging hard. Not giving in to the pressure, Herrera maintained control of the ball and rifled home a volley with the keeper within inches of the ball. Game over, see you in the group stage!

The Columbian Cup remains an afterthought, as we continue to struggle. We can put up a fight against the better teams in our league at full strength, but I play a heavy sub side during these matches to keep my starters fresh for league play.

Congrats on getting into the group stage - I can only guess how important that must be for your team.

saplingg : Congrats on getting into the group stage - I can only guess how important that must be for your team.

At the very least, it gives me a few more games worth of gate receipts to bring in. That helps us close and/or broaden the financial gap between us and the teams that didn't qualify. I haven't looked at the finances of the top teams in the league, but I'm willing to bet they're working with a bigger budget than I am. I've already seen my wage budget of 11.5k p/w when I was first appointed cut to less than half - 5.25k p/w this season!

This brings me to my next point - the biggest reason I'm happy to advance to the group stage is that I'm desperate to attract the attention of other clubs. I mean, look at how badly my budget was slashed! I don't want to head up a farm team that sells off its best players to make ends meet. I want to head up a team that aspires to win some silverware. Hopefully we'll have a good showing in this group stage, followed by a good enough showing in the second phase of league play so we can get into that group stage also. I'm hoping to win my way to one of two results - better financial backing or an offer from a better team.

Group Play, Games 1-5

[imgw]http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/6198/2011groupfixtures5.jpg[/imgw]

Columbian Cup

[imgw]http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/7237/2011cc5.jpg[/imgw]

League Table

[imgw]http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/3324/2011group5.jpg[/imgw]

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My penchant for dramatics has followed me into the group stage of phase 1. We had a fantastic 3-1 victory over Academia FC, but other than that we have only managed to secure draws. That leaves us with a similar predicament from the end of league play - win and we're in. Well, sort of. Not only do we have to beat Union Magdalena to pull even in the win column, we need to win by 3 goals or more. A 2 goal victory will draw us even in the second tiebreaker (victories) but Union will easily win the final breaker - they have 10 goals scored to my 5. Something tells me we won't be advancing into the playoff stage which is awarded to each group winner, but we'll see what we can muster.

Nothing new to report in terms of the Columbian Cup. We have only played one more game since my last update; with group play causing several games to get rescheduled. It doesn't matter, however, as we have chosen to focus on league success first and foremost.

Beat union and you're in, and you will be in good stead for the second phase... good luck mate! Btw why is cortulua in blue? affiliate in the same league??

saplingg : Beat union and you're in, and you will be in good stead for the second phase... good luck mate! Btw why is cortulua in blue? affiliate in the same league??

A simple win won't do, unfortunately. We need to win by at least 3 goals or they will win by virtue of having scored more goals. I couldn't bear to sim the game yesterday, which is just denying the inevitable, really. We've only scored 5 goals in 5 games thus far during group play. It would take an absolute outburst of scoring for us to tally 3 in one game. I suppose I'll come right out with attacking instructions and see what happens.

As for Cortulua's name being in blue, I think it's because I clicked on them to view some info.

Good luck mate. You've got a great story going:)

Group Play Complete

[imgw]http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/9392/2011groupfixtures6.jpg[/imgw]

Columbian Cup

[imgw]http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/8333/2011cc7.jpg[/imgw]

League Table

[imgw]http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/329/2011p2table0.jpg[/imgw]

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Try as we may, we simply couldn't put up an offensive fight for first place. In fact, we ended up getting shut out 1-0. We came out somewhat cautious against Union Magdalena, but it seemed as if every time I called for more offensive play, they were able to counter. Sadly enough, the only goal scored was an own-goal on our end. :dontgetit

We head off now into the second stage of league play, sitting in 7th place thanks to our first stage performance. Hopefully we can continue our good run of games, which would be a far cry from the awful second stage performance we had last season.

We continue to march on with the Columbian Cup, having managed two draws.

2011 Second Phase

Season Expectations

[imgw]http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/7513/expectations2011.jpg[/imgw]

Just to review - our goal this season is to have a midtable finish. Going into the second phase of league play, we are in very good position to accomplish this goal.

Starting Eleven

[imgw]http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/8100/2011p2tactics.jpg[/imgw]

No changes to the shape of my current tactics, although I have changed some player roles:

1. The DMC spot is now set to a full defensive role, changed form the support role it had before.
2. Both MC spots are now set to support roles, changed from the attacking role (left side) and defensive role (right side) they had before.

Transfers

[imgw]http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/9760/firstphasetransfers2011.jpg[/imgw]

No transfers in or out since before. I've had some interest coming for some of my players, but no offers as of yet. And with my limited wage budget, I need to offload contracts before signing new players.

keep it up mate, looking forward to following your progress in the second phase!

League Play, Games 1-7

[imgw]http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/7076/2011p2fixtures7.jpg[/imgw]

Columbian Cup

[imgw]http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/1334/2011cc10.jpg[/imgw]

League Table

[imgw]http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/117/2011p2table7.jpg[/imgw]

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Boom! We've started the second phase of league play on absolute fire. Having won 6 league games in the first phase, we are on the verge of eclipsing that total after having only played 7 games so far in the second phase! I have to chalk it up to team morale, because we're winning games with confidence. We've come from behind against stronger teams, we're winning on the road, we're winning with starters injured and/or suspended.

The bad news is that as we edge closer and closer to contract day for a handful of guys, we will see several players leave. Not because I don't want them or need them, but because they want wage increases that I simply can't afford. I've already agreed to unload three players that I can't afford to keep and hopefully that will be all for now. The second transfer window has already closed, but these players will leave just prior to me having to offer them a new contract - ensuring that we get something in return for their departure.

The Columbian Cup has finally ended, with us squarely in last place.